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Israel's foreign minister says his country has no intention of halting the expansion of a settlement in East Jerusalem that is fueling what some officials say is the worst rift in relations with Washington in decades.

Israeli police clashed with Palestinian demonstrators in East Jerusalem, throwing stun grenades and firing tear gas to disperse the mostly young Palestinians who pelted police with rocks.

The sporadic violence also spread to several villages and towns in the West Bank, including Ramallah and Nablus. Demonstrations also took place in the Gaza Strip.

For a fifth consecutive day, thousands of Israeli police deployed around East Jerusalem, including the Old City. Israeli national police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told VOA authorities continue to restrict entry by Palestinians to the Old City.

"The age limit is all males from the age of 50 and upwards are allowed on the Temple Mount area," said Rosenfeld. "Apart from that, the Temple Mount is closed to visitors, to Israelis, to Muslims, to foreigners. This is a measure that is necessary to be taken in order to prevent any disturbances or any injuries around that area."

Tensions have been fueled by the belief among Palestinians that Israeli Jews are extending their claims over East Jerusalem. The latest clashes erupted after Jews re-dedicated a synagogue not far from the al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem years after capturing it from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, in a move not recognized by the international community.

Tens of thousands of Jewish residents have since moved in, angering Palestinians who claim the east of the city as the capital of a Palestinian state.

The United States has demanded that Israel stop or restrict expansion of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, pending final status negotiations with the Palestinians.

There was no sign of Israel backing down. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke on Israeli radio and rebuffed Washington's demands, describing them as unreasonable.

The top Israeli diplomat said he believes the diplomatic crisis with Washington will, over time, calm down. He said Israel will not accept a situation where only the Jews are not permitted to build in Jerusalem, while Arabs are allowed to build and buy.

The Obama administration condemned Israel's decision last week to approve the construction of 1,600 housing units for Jewish residents in an East Jerusalem settlement. Israel angered Washington by announcing the decision as Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Jerusalem.

U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell had been due in Israel in an effort to get Israelis and Palestinians to start indirect negotiations. Mr. Mitchell postponed his visit to an unspecified date.

Israelis and Palestinians two weeks ago agreed to hold the talks, but the Palestinians say they might not engage in the negotiations as long as Israel keeps building settlements.

Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib laid out conditions for a return to talks.

He said the Palestinians want a guarantee from the United States that Israel will stop all kind of occupation activity, especially settlement expansion.

He said the Palestinians are also demanding that all issues, including the status of Jerusalem, be part of the negotiations, which he said should be carried out according to a timeline.

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

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Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

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Fifty years ago, lawmakers approved, and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure outlawed racial discrimination in voting, giving millions of blacks in many parts of the southern United States federal enforcement of the right to vote. Correspondent Chris Simkins introduces us to some civil rights leaders who were on the front lines in the struggle for voting rights.

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Billions of dollars of so-called ‘dirty money’ from the proceeds of crime - especially from Russia - are being laundered through the London property market, according to anti-corruption activists. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the British capital, the government has pledged to crack down on the practice.

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Ottawa, Illinois, is the hometown of W.D. Boyce, who founded the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. In Ottawa, where Scouting remains an important part of the legacy of the community, the end of the organization's ban on openly gay adult leaders was seen as inevitable. VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports.

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Artificial limbs, including the most complex of them – the human hand – are getting more life-like and useful due to constant advances in tiny hydraulic, pneumatic and electric motors called actuators. But now, as VOA’s George Putic reports, scientists in Germany say the future of the prosthetic hand may lie not in motors but in wires that can ‘remember’ their shape.

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A British pro-democracy group has accused Russia of abusing the global law enforcement agency Interpol by requesting the arrest and extradition of political opponents. A new report by the group notes such requests can mean the accused are unable to travel and are often unable to open bank accounts. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

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Talks on a major new trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations are said to be nearing completion in Hawaii. Some trade experts say the "positive atmosphere" at the discussions could mean a deal is within reach, but there is still hard bargaining to be done over many issues and products, including U.S. drugs and Japanese rice. VOA's Jim Randle reports.

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Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. The last such event was caused by an asteroid 66 million years ago. It killed off the dinosaurs and practically everything else. So scientists are in a race against time to classify the estimated 11 million species alive today. So far only 2 million are described by science, and researchers are worried many will disappear before they even have a name. VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports.

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Scientists have long been trying to develop an effective protection and cure for malaria - one of the deadliest diseases that affects people in tropical areas, especially children. As the World Health Organization announces plans to begin clinical trials of a promising new vaccine, scientists in South Africa report that they too are at an important threshold. George Putic reports, they are testing a compound that could be a single-dose cure for malaria.

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The latest issue of 'New York' magazine features 35 women who say they were drugged and raped by film and television celebrity Bill Cosby. The women are aged from 44 to 80 and come from different walks of life and races. The magazine interviewed each of them separately, but Zlatica Hoke reports their stories are similar.

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The United States is promising not to give up its fight against what Secretary of State John Kerry calls the “scourge” of modern slavery. Officials released the country’s annual human trafficking report Monday – a report that’s being met with some criticism. VOA’s National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin has more from the State Department.

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Abandoned more than 50 years ago, the underground streetcar station in Washington D.C.’s historic DuPont Circle district is about to be reborn. The plan calls for turning the spacious underground platforms - once meant to be a transportation hub, - into a unique space for art exhibitions, presentations, concerts and even a film set. Roman Mamonov has more from beneath the streets of the U.S. capital. Joy Wagner narrates his report.

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Greece has replaced Italy as the main gateway for migrants into Europe, with more than 100,000 arrivals in the first six months of 2015. Many want to move further into Europe and escape Greece’s economic crisis, but they face widespread dangers on the journey overland through the Balkans. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

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After the closure of a major rubbish dump a week ago, the streets of Beirut are filling up with trash. Having failed to draw up a plan B, politicians are struggling to deal with the problem. John Owens has more for VOA from Beirut.

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A U.N. climate conference in December aims to produce an ambitious agreement to fight heat-trapping greenhouse gases. But many local governments are not waiting, and have drafted their own climate action plans. That’s the case with Paris — which is getting special attention, since it’s hosting the climate summit. Lisa Bryant takes a look for VOA at the transformation of the French capital into an eco-city.